Bag construction



v Dec. 9,3952 HQEPPNER HAL 2,620,842

BAG CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 21, 1950 Patented Dec. 9, 1952 BAGCONSTRUCTION Arthur D. Hoeppner and Richard D. Hayes, Minneapolis, Minn,assignors to Bemis Bro. Bag 00., Minneapolis, Minn a corporation ofMinnesota Application September 21, 1950, Serial No. 186,022

Our invention relates to a bag and, more particularly, to the provisionof novel closure and carrying means therefor.

The primary object of our invention is the provision of a transverseband secured only at its opposite side edges to one of the wall-formingelements of a bag, whereby to provide a novel handle means therefor.

Another important object of our invention is the provision of a noveltubular bag having front and rear wall elements, one of which elementsis folded upon itself in spaced relation to its upper edge and firmlysealed only along its opposite side edges to one of said elements,whereby to provide a novel handle means for said bag.

A still further object of our invention is the provision of a novel bagformed from fiat overlying plies forming front and rear wall elements inwhich the upper portion of the rear wall element is folded over thefront Wall element, whereby to provide a novel combination closure flapand handle for said bag.

A still further and highly important object of our invention is theprovision of a pre-closed bag which may be readily opened aftermanufacture for filling, emptying and possible refilling; and which bag,for all practical purposes and for many types of material, will, whenfilled, retain said contents therein against accidental spilling.

A still further object of our invention is the provision of acombination closure flap and carrying handle to which printedadvertising material and the like may be directly or indirectly applied.In the event that this advertising is printed initially on separatesheets of paper, cardboard, or the like, and thereafter adhered to theclosure flap, this printed sheeting imparts relative rigidity andreinforcement to the handle.

The above and still further objects and advantages of our invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed specification, appendedclaim, and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, and wherein like characters indicate likeparts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a preferred form of bag,constructed in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2, but showing our improved bagin an open position.

Referring particularly to the preferred embodiment of our invention,illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, numeral l indicates, in itsentirety, a

1 Claim. (Cl. 150- 7) flat tubular bag comprising front and rear Wallelements 2 and 3 respectively, a closed bottom portion and a combinedclosure flap and'c'arrying handle 5.

The bag structure may be made in any suitable manner and from a varietyof materials, but preferably, and as shown, is constructed from a singlethin transparent sheet of synthetic resin such as polyethylene or thelike. The bag I is formed by folding a length of the sheet material uponitself to form the front and rear wall elements 2 and 3, the rear wallelement 3 extending longitudinally outwardly or upwardly beyond theupper edge 6 of the front wall element 2 whereby to provide the closureflap 5. The portion of the rear wall element 3 which forms the closureflap 5 is folded as indicated at I so that the flap 5 overlies the frontwall element 2. The extreme end portion of the flap 5 is also foldedupon itself as indicated at 8 on a line parallel with the fold 1, thusproviding a flap of double the thickness of the material. By referenceto Fig. 1, it will be noted that the flap 5 is coextensive in width withthe front and rear wall elements 2 and 3 and that the opposite sideedges of said opposite wall elements and flap are secured together bysuitable means such as heat-sealing, as indicated at 9. Obviously,sealing the edges 9 by means of heat applied thereto can only beaccomplished with the use of such synthetic resins as lend themselves tothis type of joinder. Of course, in bags of the above type made fromcloth, paper, or the like, the sealing would be accomplished by the useof adhesives, sewing, or the like. The closure flap 5 when joined at itsopposite side edges to the side edges of the front and rear wallelements provides a relatively strong carrying handle which iscoextensive in width to that of the bag I It should also be noted thatthe upwardly opening pocket formed by the closure flap 5 and itsinturned folded end portion, indicated by the numeral Hi, forms a pocketwhich may, if desired, be utilized for the reception of a sheet ofprinted matter or the like.

With reference to Fig. 3, it will be seen that our improved bag may beeasily opened for the reception of materials to be contained therein orfor the ready discharge of said materials. However, when the closureflap 5 is moved to its bagclosing position closely overlying the upperedge portion of the front wall element 2, it will effectively preventaccidental spilling of the contents from the bag, assuming of coursethat said contents are in a dry state. As illustrated in Fig. 2, ourimproved bag may be readily carried by insertion of the users fingersbetween the flap 5 and the overlying front wall element 2.

By reference to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that the upper edge 6 ofthe front wall element 2 is disposed in downwardly spaced relationshipto the fold '1. However, we do not wish to limit the invention to thisparticular specific arrangement inasmuch as it is sometimes desirable toconstruct the bag with the upper edge 6 in abutting engagement with theinterior of the fold I, particularly when our novel bag is utilized forthe purpose of containing relatively fine granular material such asbeans, dried peas, rice, and the like.

While we have disclosed a preferred embodiment which our invention maytake in practice, it will be understood that our novel structure iscapable of further modification without departure from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined in the claim.

What we claim is:

A tubular bag including front and rear rectangular walls, the front wallhaving an upper free transverse edge at right angles to the side edgesthereof, the upper portion of the back wall being folded on a line aboveand parallel with said free edge of the front wall, the portion of saidback wall beyond said fold being inwardly folded upon itself providing atwo ply flap overlying said front wall, the said flap being of uniformdepth throughout its transverse extent and being secured to the frontwall along its opposite side edges only, the flap in its front walloverlying position having a downwardly directed free edge fold belowsaid free edge of the front wall and parallel therewith and providing adownwardly opening finger receiving space between same and said frontwall for facilitating carrying the bag, the free edge of the inwardlyfolded portion being disposed adjacent the said free edge of said frontwall and parallel therewith and providing with the outer wall of theflap an upwardly opening article receiving pocket.

ARTHUR D. HOEPPNER. RICHARD D. HAYES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 830,148 Harvey et a1 Sept. 4,1906 880,524: Hauphofl Mar. 3, 1908 1,267,193 Dunae May 21, 19181,370,966 Hirsch Mar. 8, 1921 1,496,462 Hunt et al June 3, 1924

